A printing system has been proposed in which a print instruction is transmitted from a client to a Web server, and the Web server that has received the print instruction converts contents for printing to print data. A configuration in which the Web server provides a client with a Web service has been conventionally proposed. In recent years, cloud computing has also attracted attention as a configuration for providing a service from a web server to a client. A main feature of cloud computing is that data conversion and data processing are executed in a distributed manner using many computing resources so as to process requests from many clients in a simultaneous manner. At present, vendors provide various types of services in a disorganized manner by implementing web services in a cloud computing environment to realize cloud computing.
For example, Google (registered trademark) has developed a mechanism for data communication designed to provide services in conjunction with image forming devices, and has publicly disclosed interfaces designed for image forming devices to conduct data communication in a cloud computing environment prepared by Google (registered trademark). By implementing this interface in image forming devices, it is possible for a client to designate an image forming device to perform printing, even if the image forming device and the server are connected via the Internet.
In order to utilize the aforementioned Web server (hereinafter referred to as a “service providing device”), a user who is a client needs to acquire an account of the service providing device, and to register a printer. Firstly, the user causes an image forming device to connect to and communicate with a service providing device via a network. The user who registers the image forming device directly operates an operation unit of the image forming device or remotely operates the operation unit by using a information processing apparatus such as mobile phone through a network so as to initiate printer registration processing. Alternatively, the user can use an application for registration that has been prepared by respective venders. For example, a printing system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-160579 receives a request, from a information processing apparatus, for registering an image forming device on a service providing device, and transmits, to the information processing apparatus, configuration information for the image forming device and access information for accessing the service providing device. Then the service providing device executes printer registration by associating the configuration information for the image forming device transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the service providing device on the basis of the access information with the user information. As an another example, assume an information processing device having a configuration in which a user utilizes an application for a printer registration that is provided by a vendor so as to register an image forming device from the information processing device on the service providing device through a network. In this environment, the user first activates the application for the printer registration on a screen provided in the information processing device. The user issues instructions about the printer registration to the service providing device by using the printer registration screen displayed by the activated application. By this instruction, the application issues instructions about a registration request to the service providing device to the image forming device to be registered, and the image forming device to be registered accesses the service providing device. The service providing device that has been accessed by the image forming device transmits a login screen for logging into the service providing device to the login screen. When the user inputs account information and the like on the login screen and a login has been successful in the service providing device, the printer registration is executed by associating the image forming device that has accessed with the information processing apparatus.